OPM to renovate and reinvent: a Weekly exclusive
For four years, OPM in the Forum Shops at Caesars has been providing Vegas’ hip-hop fans with a purely upscale place to do their clubbing. But like many of OPM’s brother and sister clubs hovering on or about the purported age of nightclub maturity (five years being considered a healthy life), the venue will be closing down at the beginning of October for a non-structural renovation or reinvention. The grand closing will be celebrated on Saturday, September 29, when a rented hearse will make its way down the Strip to put the proverbial nail in OPM’s coffin. The new concept, Love & Money, will soft-open on October 12 with a celebrity-hosted grand opening between October 17 and 24. Designer Mark Tracey will do the honors, giving Love & Money a complete visual overhaul. Expect to see gothic elements, those so-hot-right-now black chandeliers, sheer draperies, urban pop-art and modern poster-style propaganda art, which will encompass the floors, walls and ceiling.
That look will be also be reflected in the Love & Money apparel line (think Ed Hardy, Affliction, Monarchy) that will accompany the new club into the market. “We’re taking a risk,” says partner and marketing director Branden Powers. DJs Jazzy Jeff, Biz Markie and Kid Capri will all hold residencies, and the music program will stay largely hip-hop and R&B-centric but looks to incorporate visits from the more mainstream-skewing Justins and Beyoncés of the music world. Says OPM’s owner Mike Goodwin, “We love our crowd; we’re just looking to do something that is broader.” With its hip new name and look, Love & Money will thumb its nose at a long tradition of monosyllabic club names opting instead, says Powers, who came up with the name, to focus on “two of the most essential things people seem to strive for, love being the most important, of course!”
Forty is the new black
The latest addition to the Santa Fe Station Casino and its widely unpublicized renovation is the 4949 Bar, which had its soft opening two weekends ago. The bar gets its name from the casino’s address on Rancho Drive (making it especially easy to find). Every Friday, Saturday and Sunday, from 9 p.m.-2 a.m., the elegant, 3,250-square-foot, dome-like room features go-go dancers shaking to the beats of DJs Eric Forbes, Jill and Miss Joy. The remainder of the week, the 24-hour casino lounge plays eclectic rare grooves off an MP3 player with unusual blends of old and modern music, in case you’ve always wondered what Bjork and Dean Martin would sound like together. The mixture of old and new offers something for everybody, drawing in a crowd of everyone from their early 20s to late 50s. The locals-friendly establishment has no cover charge and is having its full-blown opening to the public this week. “We’re ready to compete with Caramel and smaller venues in town like Zuri Bar and Centrifuge at the MGM,” says Frankie Anobile, creative director of nightlife at Station Casinos. “It’s not going to be a megaclub. We’re not trying to capitalize on the ultralounge thing. This is more of an uber-bar.”
In addition to 4949, dapper rapper/producer and president/CEO of Def Jam and Roc-A-Fella Records Jay-Z will bring his 40/40 brand to the Venetian’s new Palazzo Resort Hotel and Casino, set to open December 20, 2007. The multitiered 40/40 bar and lounge will encompass 24,000 square feet of the new resort and is rumored to be sharing the nightlife spotlight with a two-story restaurant and lounge (we are hearing maaaybe NY’s Stanton Social) run by Tao managing partners Jason Strauss and Noah Tepperberg of Strategic Group, as well as with a full-scale nightclub and live music venue.
Myers takes it to the Bank
Even more exciting than Light Group’s announcement last week that the new incarnation of Light nightclub will be called the Bank is the fact that the Vegas nightlife community finally has a woman in a managing-partner role! We hate to say we told ya so, but ... No sooner is Jet VIP marketing host Jodi Myers honorably mentioned in last week’s nightlife issue as a woman to watch than she is asked by Light Group to take the helm on their next big project. When the Bank opens on New Year’s Eve at the Bellagio, the 6,600-square-foot venue will debut a stunning new multitiered design which digs down eight feet to showcase a glass-encased dance floor as the room’s focal point. Myers, 31, a six-year Light Group veteran, says she is “really honored” to have been selected as the face of the Bank. Myers will share her managing-partner role with international promoter Danny A, a part-owner of New York hot-spot Marquee. Once in the hot seat, Myers plans to tighten up a tad on the ever-loosening Vegas dress code and to really dive into the details that matter to women. And women really matter to the nightclubs! “Vegas is evolving, and [women are] becoming more and more a key market out here. They influence trends and fashion.” A co-worker raved that in the male-dominated club world, Myers is a rarity, “one of the elite.” First come the nightclubs. Next stop: the White House!